


Something Sweet in Coming Home

by nekosd43



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Candlenights, Crushes, Dating, Falling In Love, Holidays, Home for Christmas, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, M/M, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Slow Romance, YEAH BABY WE'RE DOING ALL THE AUS IN ONE
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21940267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekosd43/pseuds/nekosd43
Summary: Fae Run was a small farming town with about 400 people.  It was so small that everyone knew everyone, and nothing stayed a secret for long.And now Taako finds himself moving back there after ten years to help his sister with her bakery, despite never wanting to come back.  But things have changed in Fae Run, and he finds himself falling for not one but two handsome men - Magnus Burnsides, widower farmer, and Kravitz Ravensire, Florist and Funeral Home Director.Can Taako find love in Fae Run... and maybe even learn to love Fae Run itself?  He only has until Candlenights to figure it out!
Relationships: Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Magnus Burnsides/Kravitz/Taako, Magnus Burnsides/Taako
Comments: 11
Kudos: 33





	Something Sweet in Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ungarmax](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ungarmax/gifts).



> HAPPY CANDLENIGHTS EVEN THOUGH THIS FIC IS CURRENTLY SET IN SEPTEMBER. I definitely will not write the rest of this before the holiday, but I think we can all enjoy some cheesy candlenight's fic any time of the year.
> 
> This is basically an "everyone is the race they were in the show but they age like humans so i can have an excuse for taako and magnus to have been in high school together" au.

It was just as the leaves were starting to turn, and the air took on that sharp bite of fall, that Taako found himself driving back to Fae Run.

It wasn’t like he wanted to go back. He had made a break for the city as soon as he was old enough, and Taako had sworn he would never look back. Fae Run was a small town with small ideas, and he was off to bigger things. He _never_ wanted to go back.

The only person in the world he would go back for was his sister.

“It’s just for a couple months, Koko. I _promise_.”

“I dunno Lulu,” Taako had sighed over the phone. “Can’t your boyfriend take care of this?”

“I love Barry very much,” his sister Lup explained with a laugh, “and I would not trust him with running the bakery if my life depended on it.”

“Yeah but _me_ ? Lup there has to be _someone_ who helps you at the shop.”

“Taako, it’s a small town,” Lup replied. “You know that. It’s the _only_ bakery in Fae Run. If I have to close up shop for three months people will have to drive two hours out to the Costco shopping center just for fresh bread and stuff.”

Taako heaved a sigh into the phone.

“Listen… I know you never wanted to come back here,” Lup said quietly, “and I wouldn’t ask you unless it was really important to me. But I’m not gonna have a chance like this again, and I need you to back me up.”

And that was how he found himself packing up his tiny car and driving back to Fae Run for the first time in ten years.

“It’ll do you some good to come back here,” Lup told him over speakerphone as he drove into the city limits. “It’s nice. I know it was shitty growing up in a do nothing town but as an adult it’s… nice. Quiet. I promise it’s not as bad as you remember.”

He looked around at the quaint brick houses with their simple shingle roofs and white window panes, and felt a sense of familiarity that was both comforting and horrifying to him.

“That’s because you’ve already been poisoned by it’s _disgusting_ small town charm,” Taako scoffed as he turned onto main street. “Which is _exactly_ what I told you would happen if you came back here.”

“I didn’t want to lose the bakery,” Lup answered simply. “It’s the only thing we have left of mom and dad.”

Taako tried to keep his disgusted scoff quiet.

“I’m almost there,” Taako said instead. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Fae Run was a small farming town with about 400 people. It was so small that everyone knew everyone, and nothing stayed a secret for long. So as Taako drove up to the bakery and searched for a parking spot, he wasn’t surprised to see familiar faces already recognizing him. He caught sight of Pastor Highchurch and his kids walking on the sidewalk, and the old pastor gave him a hearty wave. Taako pretended like he didn’t see as he drove past and pulled into one of the few open places for parking on the street. 

The trouble with a small town was it was the same thing every day. Taako was pretty sure Pastor Highchurch looked the same as the day he had left. The kids were older, Mookie was only a baby when Taako cleared out, but the _adults_ were all the same. And they would stay the same, every day, until they died. He didn’t want to be like that. He wanted to get out there and see what was in the world, try new things, _grow_ , and he never saw himself doing that in Fae Run, where the same faces said the same hellos to the same people going to the same jobs day in and day out… it was hell and it was going nowhere fast.

Which is why he was so shocked when Lup had told him she was moving back a few years ago. Their Aunt had passed away, and had left Taako and Lup the bakery that their parents had built. Lup didn’t want the family business to go under. Taako thought it was better off that way.

Now he once more found himself standing outside of the _Spellbound Savories and Sweets Bakery_ (which looked exactly the same as it did ten years ago), wondering what he was doing here. 

_Spellbound Savories and Sweets_ was just as twee and quaint as everything else in FaeRun. A cute little storefront with a hand painted sign and large glass windows to show display cases full of pastries inside. It was getting late, but Taako could see there were still quite a few pastries in the display. Hopefully someone would come by with a sweet tooth and pick those up, or his sister would be forced to toss them. That was the trouble with a place like this - sometimes things went to waste. Food, time, talent… It was all wasted here. His sister could be a chef wherever she wanted, and she _chose_ to waste herself here. He grabbed the handle on the glass front door and stepped inside to the sound of a soft tinkling bell.

The inside was simple, a few cafe tables and chairs for customers, and a large counter with another refrigerated display case for things like cakes and cookies to be shown off in. Behind the counter was a large chalkboard with a list of the items of the day, and Taako could see the swinging wooden door that led to the kitchen in the back. The bakery smelled _amazing_ , not that he expected any difference - Lup was talented, and their family recipes were good. These people had no idea how lucky they had it with her here.

There was a chubby human standing behind the counter, cleaning his glasses as Taako came in. His face was tired and his hair was greying, and he immediately recognized the man from all of Lup’s instagram posts - this would be the new boyfriend. Well… _new_ was relative, they had been dating almost a year, Taako just hadn’t met him yet. And yes, he was wearing the _same_ pair of goddamn bluejeans Taako always saw him in in every single picture.

“Barry?”

The man put on his glasses and looked up at Taako. He did a double take, and then cracked a smile. “Oh wow!” Barry laughed, extending a hand. “You must be Taako! I knew you and Lup were twins, I’ve seen pictures but… wow! I could have sworn you were her for a second there. You look _so_ much alike.”

“No you’re mistaken, I’m the _pretty_ one,” Taako laughed, shaking Barry’s hand firmly. Barry grinned.

“I mean _I’m_ not gonna say it,” he chuckled, giving Taako a wink. “Not with the boss around.”

“Are we talking about meeeeeee?” came a voice lilting from the kitchen that Taako knew was his sister.

“No we’re talking about your hot brother,” Barry laughed, and Taako had to laugh too. He hadn’t been able to meet Barry since Lup started dating him, but based on what he saw on instagram and Lup’s nonstop gushing, he was probably a good enough guy. And he at least seemed to have a good sense of humor.

Lup barrelled out of the kitchen’s swinging door, apron covered in flour, and practically tackled her brother in a crushing hug.

“Oh Koko thank you _thank you_ so much!” Lup cried, hugging him even tighter. “You have no idea what this means to me. I’m honestly gonna cry!”

“Please don’t,” Taako laughed, hugging his sister back. “So… the University is going to let you finish your degree, huh?”

“Yeah, Barry pulled some strings for me and got me registered for my final quarter,” Lup said, pulling away. Taako tried not to notice all the flour now smudged on his nice dark skinny jeans. “It’s gonna be a lot of work, but I’ll _finally_ be able to graduate.”

Looking at Lup _was_ like looking in a mirror for Taako. Same raven black hair, same hooked nose, same dark smooth skin, same dusting of freckles across the face, same long elegant ears. Same goofy gap in the teeth when she smiled. When they were kids, it was impossible to tell them apart, and they liked it that way. Now that they were older there were differences - Taako wore his hair long, and she kept it short. He wore designer clothes, and she was slumming it in a t-shirt and jeans. They both had a crazy number of piercings, though in different styles and places. They were different, but also the same, and they knew each other better than anyone else in the world.

“And it’s just… the one quarter then?” Taako asked tentatively. “You’ll be done before the holidays?”

“Oh yeah don’t even worry about it,” Lup replied. “I know you don’t want to get stuck here for the Candlenights festival, I’ll be back just in time. I just need you to hold down the fort for three months while I finish my final quarter.”

He didn’t want to object. Lup had dropped out of school with only a few units left to graduate in order to move back to Fae Run and manage the bakery. It would be a real dick move to say no when he knew how badly she wanted to finish college. If they were being honest, she didn’t need the degree; she’d probably be running this bakery for the rest of her life. But it was something _unfinished_ . Something denied her grasp when she had worked so hard for it. She _deserved_ it.

But _gods..._ coming back here was rough.

“So things are… pretty much the same here I take it,” Taako sighed as he quickly cast prestidigitation to remove the flour from his jeans. He glanced around the cafe portion of the bakery. “Same usual clients, same routine in the morning?”

“I mean I’ve done my own thing with the place,” Lup admitted, gesturing up at the chalkboard, and Taako could see that there were some specials up there that he didn’t recognize from the old standards. “I know Auntie always made the same things every day, but I try to mix it up a little. As long as you’ve got the basic staples, something sweet and something savory, you’ve got the bakery name covered, so go wild.”

“I’m sure Davenport still handles the orders for all your dry ingredients. You still get your dairy from the same place?” Taako asked.

“Waxmen farms? Yeah, but you’ll never guess who works there now.” She grinned and looked at Taako. “Maggie.”

Instantly Taako was able to conjure up the image of his high school crush. Tall, handsome, human, facial hair even though they were in their teens. Magnus Burnsides was the captain of the Cheer squad. He was big enough that you would _expect_ he played football, but that was just one of the many oddities about Magnus. He had more fun in Cheer, where he could build up his classmates with excited chants, and still got to show off how strong he was by lifting and catching other members of the team. Taako remembered having a crush the instant he saw him at a pep rally he was forced to attend, but Taako was so focused on graduating and _getting out of this place_ that he had never really acted on those feelings. Not that it had mattered.

“Maggie _Burnsides_?” Taako gasped. “Really? He still lives here?”

“Heck yeah he does, and he’s living that Farm Life now,” Lup replied.

“He works for the Waxmens?”

Lup’s face suddenly got very concerned. “No he… oh I guess you wouldn’t know,” Lup replied. “He owns the farm now. He and Julia Waxmen, remember her? They got married a few years back. But then about a year later they were in a terrible car accident. Julia and her dad died, but Magnus survived. Terrible tragedy. Magnus runs the farm all by himself now.”

“Shit,” Taako said, suddenly struck by the whiplash of the conversation. “He doing okay?”

“It’s been a few years. He has good days and bad days,” Lup admitted, “But he’s been doing good lately. The farm gives him lots of work to keep his mind busy. He’ll be happy to see you, he asks how you’re doing all the time. And he’s still cute, by the way, since I know you won’t ask.”

“Lup you were just talking about how broken up he is about the death of his wife, why would I ask that?” scoffed Taako.

“I just know you had a crush on him when we were kids.” She shrugged. “Thought you might be curious.”

“Well the last thing I want to do right now is get tied up in pining over small town nobodies from nowhere,” Taako answered curtly. “I’m here to help you out until the end of the year, and then I am _outta here_.”

Lup rolled her eyes. “I know I know. Come on, let me show you what I’ve got going in the back.”

Lup was heading upstate at the end of the week, so she had a few days to help Taako get acquainted with the bakery again. They left Barry to run the shop, and headed back into the kitchen. She showed him where she kept various ingredients, walked him through her morning routine, and showed him the books and how things were running financially. And it was all very ordinary, nothing he couldn’t handle.

“I really appreciate this Koko,” Lup said softly as she showed Taako the large pantry where she kept various dry ingredients. “I know… I know you doing this for me means you had to stop your-”

“It’s fine,” Taako cut her off. “I can still film stuff for my channel while I’m here. Maybe it will help your bakery, having a semi-famous youtuber working here.”

“Yeah like people are going to drive out to the ass end of nowhere to see a youtuber bake cookies,” she said with a grin and a nod. “Thank you, though.”

“Anything Lu,” Taako replied, and he knew he really meant it. It was a pain, this whole thing was a pain, but really… he’d do anything for Lup. Even move back to the one place he swore he’d never come back to.

They finished up the evening mixing up some dough for the next day and chatting about nothing. Lup would come out to see him in the city for holidays, but it still had been almost two years since they last spent time together. She wasn’t dating Barry last time she saw him. And he was still dating Sazed… which felt like a lifetime ago. She didn’t ask about the tiefling, she already knew they had split, but Taako was still grateful that she didn’t want details. It was still kinda raw to talk about.

“So… the youtube thing really is going well for you?” Lup asked as she kneaded bread dough for the next morning.

“I mean I’m coming up on a million subscribers,” Taako found himself bragging, though he knew it really it didn’t matter all that much. He enjoyed cooking, and people enjoyed watching him cook. He probably could have been happy working in a regular kitchen, but the showmanship of cooking on youtube played into his ego _just_ a bit. “Do you watch my videos?”

“I don’t really _watch_ them, I put them on when I’m missing you,” she admitted. “Sometimes I like to put them on while I’m working and it… feels like you’re here in the kitchen with me, like when we were kids.”

It was a startlingly sentimental statement, and Taako was not prepared for it. “Lup, you know you can call me anytime you want.”

“I know,” she replied, “but I miss having you here sometimes. And I miss cooking with you.”

“Lup if you wanted to come out and live with me you just have to say the word.”

“And leave this place?” she asked. “I _can’t_. I can’t leave the bakery. I know you want me to but… I really love working here. It helps me feel closer to mom.”

They were little kids when their parents died, but Taako remembered waking up every morning to the smell of fresh bread and pastries. It was one of the few things he did remember about mom.

“I’m just… I worry about you,” Taako admitted. “We both left this place as soon as we could, and I just… I worried that you came back here because you felt _guilty_ about that.”

“Maybe a little,” she sighed. “But I’ve come around to it. Fae Run is a great place, with good people. I couldn’t see that when we were younger but now… I dunno, I got older and suddenly a slower-paced simple life seemed more appealing.”

“It’s not because _Barry_ lives here then,” Taako teased.

“Barry and I haven’t been going out _that_ long!” she laughed.

“Okay yeah but you’ve been sending me texts about him every day since you got here and-”

Lup tossed a handful of flour in Taako’s face.

When it was time to close up, Barry swept the floor, and Lup started to gather up all the leftover pastries in the window displays and put them in a box with waxed paper.

“Don’t you throw those away after they’ve been sitting in the window all day?” Taako asked.

“Oh no, I save them for Kravitz.”

Taako actually felt himself do a double take at the name he did not recognize. “Who the fuck is Kravitz?”

“Kravitz Ravensire. He works down the street,” Lup explained casually.

“I’m sorry, there is a _new_ person in Fae Run?” Taako found himself laughing at the idea. Who would move _here_?

“I mean he’s not new, he’s been here a few years,” Lup replied.

“Well he’s new to _me_.”

“He should be here any- ah yeah, I see him coming,” Lup said, glancing out the window, “hang on, I’ll introduce you.”

The door swung open with the tinkling of a bell, and in stepped… an incredibly handsome man.

It was hard not to stare - this guy was eye candy. Tall, fit, with gorgeous dark skin and beautifully kept locs tied up in a bun behind him. He had high cheek bones, and his eyes were strangely dark, and his ears had a hint of a point to them, and Taako had to catch his beating heart in his throat before saying something stupid.

“Hey Kravitz,” Lup said casually as if she wasn’t talking to the prettiest man Taako had seen in quite awhile, “I got your box, lemmie ring you up.”

“Thank you Lup,” Kravitz answered, and oh gods even his voice was pretty, the slightest hint of an accent and then… Oh no he was looking at Taako with a charming smile and just the tiniest hint of fangs and Taako felt like he was going to fall through the floor. “Is this…?”

“My brother Taako? Yeah,” Lup laughed, coming to wrap an arm around his shoulder and drag Taako towards the register, “Please excuse his silence, he is _incredibly_ rude when meeting new people.”

“I-I am not!” Taako shrieked.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Kravitz said with a kind smile. “Your sister talks a lot about you."

“She has not mentioned you.” Taako said curtly, shooting his sister a glance.

“Well I wouldn’t think she’d have much to say about me,” Kravitz chuckled. “I’m just a regular customer.”

“Kravitz comes by on weekdays and buys my leftovers at a discount,” Lup explained, punching something into the register. “He uses them at one of his jobs.”

“Where do you work?” Taako asked. “Maybe I’ll see you around while I’m here.”

“Well _these_ are for a job you wouldn’t exactly _stop by_ at,” Kravitz admitted. “I work at a funeral home. Having semi-fresh pastries for grieving families can go a long way towards making people feel comfortable.”

“Do enough people die here to merit having a whole funeral home?” Taako asked, immediately realizing how tactless he must sound.

“It’s attached to the tri-county morgue, about an hour from here,” Kravitz explained, not phased by Taako’s comment. “It’s not exactly a hub of activity, but it keeps us busy enough that I have a job. I do have to hold down a _second_ job though.”

“The flower shop on the corner,” informed Lup, “Kravitz does flower arrangements.”

“I guess that’s helpful when you’re helping plan funerals, huh?”

“Yeah I get a pretty good deal on lillies and such,” Kravitz laughed.

Lup finished ringing up the box and gave Kravitz the total, and Kravitz pulled out his wallet and got out his card.

“So you buy the leftovers?” Taako said, feeling like an idiot for saying the obvious.

“Yeah Lup and I came up with a good deal,” Kravitz admitted. “She bakes in large batches to save time, but sometimes things don’t sell, so I come and take what is left at a discount so she doesn’t have to take a loss.” He laughed. “I tried paying her full price, but she wouldn’t let me.”

“It’s actually good you stopped by Krav,” Lup explained. “Taako is going to be taking over the bakery for a few months while I finish my degree.”

“Oh that’s wonderful!” Kravitz said. “Well then we will be seeing each other a lot, Taako. I hope you’ll still honor your sister’s generous deal with me.”

“Uh, yeah of course,” Taako laughed, “I’m cool with giving deals to handsome guys.” He could feel his skin getting hot as Kravitz smiled at the joke. He was going to see this guy _every day_? He wasn’t sure if his heart was going to be able to take it.

Lup ran Kravitz’s card and they exchanged pleasant goodbyes, Lup following him to the door as he carried his box of sweets to his car. Once Kravitz had left, Lup flipped the sign on the door to “closed” and locked the door. The second he knew the latch had turned Taako heard himself shriek.

“How does someone _that hot_ end up in this dump of a town?” Taako gasped.

“I live here,” Barry said with a chuckle, and Lup laughed too.

“I’m serious,” Taako huffed.

“I don’t know Taako,” answered Lup. “He just showed up one day, I never asked him why he came here. But maybe you just need to accept that new things _do_ happen here once in a while. It’s a familiar town, but not _too_ familiar, you know? Things have changed.”

“Things have changed _a lot_ if guys like that live here now,” Taako admitted.

Lup said her goodnights to Barry, and then helped Taako grab his suitcase and carry it upstairs to the flat above the bakery where they had grown up. It was… small. Smaller than Taako remembered. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a tiny room one _could_ call a living room if one was feeling generous, and that was it. No need for a kitchen, there was one downstairs. No need for much else, the people meant to live here rarely had free time.

“I, uh, cleaned out the guest room,” Lup explained, gesturing to what had been their room when they were kids. “So you won’t have to sleep on the couch while you’re here.”

“Oh,” Taako replied. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he would be needing a place to sleep. It had been a long time since he had slept in this place.

“You probably want to unpack so I’ll just…” Lup gestured to their parent’s room - her room - and made her way to the door.

Unpacking only took a few minutes. Taako really didn’t have a whole lot of things. A dozen or so outfits he could mix and match, mostly things he didn’t mind getting a little grubby with flour. A couple heavy coats, since he would be here for winter. Toothbrush. There wasn’t much else he needed.

If he was being honest, he didn’t really leave much behind.

And that was it. He was unpacked. He looked at the twin bed shoved against the wall, the same one he used to sleep on as a child, and suddenly felt a pang of something in his heart as he looked over the faded quilt. He wasn’t really sure what it was - sadness? Loneliness? Dread? It kinda felt like all of the above.

“You okay Koko?” Lup said from behind him. He turned to see her standing in the doorway, dressed for bed and looking concerned.

“Yeah I just… it’s weird to be back here,” Taako admitted. “It’s like… the worst kind of deja vu. I’m seven years old again, and we’re fighting with Auntie about bedtime, except this time I’m almost 30 and you’re not in here to talk to while I fall asleep.”

“... do you want to sleep in my room?” she said tentatively.

“Would that be weird?”

“Nah, it’ll be nice,” she said, gesturing for Taako to grab his blanket, “we haven’t had a sleepover in years.”

He nodded, and grabbed the quilt.

It was so familiar, as he curled up on the floor of Lup’s room with a pillow, blanket wrapped around his shoulders, listening to his sister talk about nothing in particular. And when she came down to the floor with a pillow and blanket of her own, that felt familiar too. It had been so long since he had fallen asleep next to her.

And he tried not to dwell on how much like _home_ it felt when nothing else ever had.

When the alarm went off that morning, Taako was ready. It was easy enough to fall back into the routine of bakery life, even though it had been a few years. It was like riding a bike, and Taako was up at sunrise with Lup to preheat ovens and start mixing pastry cream and icing for various desserts as if he had been there every day for their whole lives.

As Taako found himself folding chocolate shavings into some sugar cookie dough when he heard a knock at the back door. It was too early for customers, so it had to be someone for work.

He looked up. “Is it Barry?”

“Oh hell no he doesn’t get up this early,” Lup laughed as she got up to answer it. “It’s probably Magnus with my order of milk and eggs.”

“Oh god what?!?” Taako cried, frantically trying to wipe his flour dusted hands on his apron so he could smooth his hair down.

“Thought you weren’t interested in pining over nobodies,” Lup teased.

“That doesn’t mean I want him to see me looking like a hot mess!” Taako answered, quickly casting a spell to smooth his hair and put on makeup. “I haven’t seen him since… god since high school! I wouldn’t want him thinking I’m a disaster!”

“Oh no, we can’t have that,” Lup laughed, undoing the latch on the back door. Swinging it open, she greeted her visitor. “Magnus! You got a moment or do you need to get rushing off to another delivery?”

“I’ve always got time for you, Lup,” came a deep and hearty voice. Taako couldn’t see the guest from where he was sitting, but he recognized the voice, even if it was a little deeper than he remembered. “Why, something up?”

“Just thought you’d want to say hi…” Lup stepped back from the door, and let her guest pop his head in.

Magnus fucking Burnsides. Taako would have recognized him in a heartbeat. His hair was much longer, wavy and pulled into a ponytail, and his beard had gotten fuller too, still bushiest at the sideburns. But his eyes were bright and familiar, and Taako felt his heart flutter up into his throat the same way as it had always done when he saw Magnus’ face light up upon seeing what Lup had brought him in for.

“Taako?!” Magnus cried, smiling from sideburn to sideburn. He stepped into the bakery, still a big burly wall of a man, but more defined now, clearly shaped from hard labor rather than just general teenage testosterone. He wore a simple plaid shirt and jeans, and had an insulated cooler bag slung over his shoulder. As he turned to face him, Taako could see he was carrying what looked like a sleeping _chicken_ under one arm.

“Hey Maggie!” Taako answered, trying to process this whole thing. “G-good to see you man!”

“Lup you should have told me Taako was coming home!” Magnus said with a laugh.

“It was kinda uncertain,” Lup admitted. “Didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“What are you doing back in Fae Run?” Magnus continued, shifting the bird gently into his other arm so he could extend his right hand for a handshake.

“I’m gonna run Lup’s bakery for a bit,” Taako admitted as he took his hand. Magnus’ hands were huge, and his handshakes were hand crushing. Taako barely even noticed as he stared. “I’m sorry but… Is… is that a chicken?”

“Oh Stevie? Yeah,” he replied, pulling his hand back and gently petting the chicken on the head. It made some protesting clucking noises as it opened its eyes. “She’s got bad legs, so I take her with me on my morning route. Gives her something to look forward to, since she can’t really get around the yard that well.”

Taako found himself crossing his arms across his chest. “I don’t mean to get hung up on this, but you take your chicken for a _walk_ in the morning?” Taako laughed in disbelief.

“Sure do, every morning,” Magnus replied with a grin. “But for real, you’re gonna be running the bakery?”

“He’s gonna keep the place going while I finish up my bachelors,” Lup confirmed. “So you two will be seeing each other a lot more.”

“That’s wonderful!” Magnus cried. “Honestly it’s been, what, ten years? I’d love to hang out and catch up. You must have a lot of cool stories, being a famous youtube chef.”

“You watch my show?” Taako cried, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“I mean I’ve seen a few episodes,” admitted Magnus, and Taako almost thought he saw a hint of blush spread over his cheeks. “I don’t get to watch a lot of youtube, you know? But Lup told me about your show and I… I thought I’d check it out.”

“Hopefully it wasn’t too boring or anything,” Taako laughed nervously.

“Oh no it was… it was a good show!” Magnus stammered. “You’re really talented, you know? I just don’t have a lot of downtime these days.”

“Oh of course,” Taako replied, realizing how vain he must sound. “You’re running a farm now, huh?”

“Yup! Got lots of cows to milk and chickens to feed and deliveries to make,” Magnus explained. “Real busy day on the farm.”

“Well I’m glad to hear you’ll have time to come see me once or twice a week to bring me milk and eggs,” Taako said with a smile, and Magnus smiled in return.

“Yeah for sure,” Magnus replied, and Taako tried not not notice how hot his face felt as he talked. “And maybe some other times too.”

With that Lup helped Magnus unload the bag he was carrying to get out several cartons of eggs and bottles of milk, which she hurriedly stashed away in the fridge. When she returned, she gave Taako a knowing smile before turning to Magnus.

“Well I imagine you’ve got a lot of work to do,” Lup said, extending a hand to Magnus. “Take good care of my brother while I’m gone, alright?”

“Absolutely,” Magnus laughed, taking her hand and shaking it. “Alright with you Taako?” He winked.

“Peachy,” Taako replied, awkwardly waving as Magnus gathered up his things and headed out the door.

“No Lup, I couldn’t _possibly_ find folks from this ass backwards town attractive!” Lup teased with a high voice after making sure Magnus was gone. “I’ve seen _everything_ this place has and I am _not interested_!”

“Very funny,” Taako said, his face getting even hotter. “So there are a few hot guys that live here. It’s still a trash town.”

She snorted a laugh. “Whatever you say man. Just make sure you pick your jaw up off the floor before Kravitz shows up later today.”

Taako wanted to strangle Lup but _gods_ she wasn’t wrong. Two absolute hunks coming to see him on the reg while he stayed here? He wasn’t interested in dating but _looking_ was free, and both of them were _very_ good to look at.

The rest of the week went about as well as Taako expected. Lup showed him a few of her favorite recipes to do, and he helped make dough and mix fillings. She brought him down to old man Davenport’s General Store to talk about ingredient shipments. She took him up to city hall to get a parking permit and say hello to Mayor Lucretia. And on her last day in town, she dragged him to church.

Pastor Highchurch ran the Chapel of The Good Earth, a quaint little one-room church that did not function like any church Taako had ever heard of. For one, there was no talk of a “god”. Pastor Highchurch believed that it was important everyone feel comfortable to commune with their respective religions in their own way. They all had their own connections to the world, and it was not his place to dictate what those connections should be or mean. His sermons focused more on things like kindness and love on an individual basis, and his ministry spent a lot of energy on helping people rather than trying to spread a message, but he also opened up his church to specific faith practices - literally any religious holiday was honored if someone was there to honor it.

Taako remembered being very small and having to go to church every so often - something he dreaded at the time because he didn’t really gel with this touchy-feely “everyone is special” message that Highchurch was preaching. But Lup was insistent they go, not only because it was a good way to reconnect with people from the town, but also because she had some of her best business immediately after church. They had several baskets of freshly-fried donuts and warm croissants to sell. 

As they set up their table in front of the rose garden after the sermon, Lup waved at Pastor Highchurch to have him come over.

“Taako!” the old dwarf chuckled as he approached, “I saw you the other day, but I’m not sure you saw me.”

“Oh, yeah sorry Pastor I-”

“Nah nah nah,” he said with a smile, “When I’m not on the pulpit I’m just Merle. Don’t need titles or nothing, we’re all adults here. Only the kids really call me Pastor.”

“Oh, well, hey Merle,” Taako tried, but the name felt weird in his mouth. “Sorry.”

“Aah it’s fine,” Merle said, placing a hand on Taako’s hip. “We’re short, you probably couldn’t see us out of your car and all. But it’s good to see you laddie, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see those pointy ears of yours in my church again.”

“I’m leaving for the Institute tomorrow,” Lup explained, “and Taako is going to take care of the bakery while I’m gone.”

“That’s wonderful,” Merle said, beaming proudly, “I’m so happy for you Lup, I know how hard you worked for this.”

“Yeah I’m nervous, but it’s just a couple more credits and then I’ll be back before you know it,” she laughed. “Taako won’t even have to be here for new years.”

“Oh, surely it ain’t that bad being back in your home town,” Merle teased, “I’m sure there’s lots of familiar faces here you’ve been missing while out there in the world.”

As Merle said that, Taako’s eyes focused on a group of congregants chatting on the other side of the courtyard. Magnus Burnsides, smiling as he chatted with some girls Taako vaguely remembered from high school - a large orc woman with a shaved head, and a smaller pale blue dragonborn. And then his eyes wandered, looking over at more familiar faces. Mr. Davenport chatting with Mayor Lucretia over a cup of coffee and a donut. Barry laughing with Kravitz, and Taako could see Lucas Miller standing awkwardly with them. Johann, Sloane, Robbie, Avi, Ren, Paloma, Graham, Cassidy, Roswell… and so many others, standing here and talking as if nothing had changed for the past ten years.

But things _had_ changed. He had changed. The people had changed. This _town_ had changed. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he could sort of see now what Lup had meant about the place. The faces were the same, but there was such a change in what it felt like to _see_ them. He thought he would be dreading seeing everyone again but… it was nice. It was familiar.

It was home.

“You promise to take good care of the place while I’m gone?” Lup asked quietly while she handed Mavis a donut in exchange for a dollar.

“I make no promises,” Taako laughed, “but I’ll do my best. And you’ll be home for Candlenights?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Lup said with a smile.

At that, Merle got everyone’s attention in the courtyard.

“I just wanted to take a moment to welcome Taako back to our little town,” Merle said, and everyone around him clapped and smiled politely. “It’s been a long time, but we’ve missed you Taako. It’s good to have you back, even if it’s only for a little while.”

There was some cheering, and a particularly loud one from Magnus, and Taako felt himself finding it hard to know who to look at with all these smiling faces trained on him. He blushed, and nervously waved at everyone.

“Welcome home, Taako!” someone shouted, and a chorus of “Welcome home!” came up in response, and Taako saw his name on everyone’s smiling lips. Davenport. Lup. Lucretia. Merle. Barry. Magnus. Kravitz.

Maybe living here for a few months wouldn’t be so bad.


End file.
